


In the Line of Sight

by TheSkyIsALie



Series: Typhlotic [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Blind Character, Blind!Tim, Dogs, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Jason is a Sweetheart, M/M, Tim Is Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 08:04:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11732976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSkyIsALie/pseuds/TheSkyIsALie
Summary: A continuation of the previous work in this series.Tim was never expecting to gain so much after losing what he had.





	In the Line of Sight

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry I kind of dropped off the face of the earth for a while there. This is a compilation of prompts and senarios meant for world building for possible future stories.
> 
> Please enjoy!

Getting a blind dog had been no problem at all, the few companies they had contacted jumping at the chance to issue the (soon to be former) CEO of Wayne Enterprises with one of their best trained.

Tim had accepted the offer of a German Sheppard called Sam, who seemed to have fallen in love with both Tim and Jason upon meeting them. He had been perfect for them, trained to both aid and protect his owner – a point to which they had both agreed could come in handy considering Tim’s previous and Jason’s current line of work. Paper’s had been signed and amounts had been payed and by the end of the day Tim was the proud owner of his very own blind dog.

“He’s well behaved.” The younger commented happily on their walk back home, Sam’s lead wrapped tightly around his one hand and his other clasped in Jason’s.

“He’s been trained all his life to be well behaved, Tim.” Was Jason’s reply, quick and joking. Admittedly, Jason was very glad Sam was behaving as well as he was, with the way the young dog had so excitedly greeted them.

Jason had been worried over Tim having a dog that already stood only inches from his hip and weighed almost half of his weight, especially if said dog was over excitable. While Jason would have no problem handling Sam should he ever get out of hand, Tim was small – tiny really – standing almost a full foot shorter than Jason and a good 100bls lighter, and could easily be pulled along or overbalanced.

Sam appeared to have no interest of being overly energetic, however – happily trotting infront of them along the pavement and pausing every now and again to sniff at something they passed. Tim huffed,

“Shut up.” Jason only laughed, admiring the way Tim seemed so much more confident out walking with Sam already, only keeping a firm grip in Jason’s hand instead of clinging to his arm like he had that morning. Jason really hoped Tim could continue to build his confidence like this.  
___

Tim woke steadily, the bedsheets warm and soft and smelling of something familiar and comforting. He lay in the warmth, relishing the absence of any aches or pains he was so used to feeling whenever waking to a new day, rolling onto his back to stretch languidly before finally opening his eyes and ruining the content feeling completely.

He’d forgotten. Barely over a week of living like this and today he’d woken and forgotten he no longer had the luxury of sight.

Tim deflated, blowing out a long, heavy sigh and dropping his outstretched arms back down onto the mattress. He suddenly felt terrible, the heavy weight of loss that had been missing for days now settling back onto his chest. He pushed himself up, hoping to seek some sort of treat for breakfast out of Jason and burry the unpleasant feelings. 

“Jay?” he spoke, voice still wispy from sleep. He reached out, hand drifting steadily over the bedclothes in search of a warm body, only to brush over nothing but cold sheets. Jason must already be up, meaning it was probably later than Tim thought and the elder had simply left him to sleep in.

Tim sighed, kicking the covers off and swinging his legs round, bare feet pressing onto the hardwood floor. At least the heating was on, as he had no idea where he’d left his clothes the previous night and the boxer briefs and long-sleeved shirt – that was originally Jason’s if the way it fell past his bum and over his hands said anything – would have to do.

“Jay?” he asked again, fingers trailing the wall as he padded into the main room – sure of his steps with the knowledge of Jason’s careful tidying of the pathways along the walls that he had begun to map out. He was only met with silence, however, which made him halt. Jason always answered him when he called, whether he was on the other side of the apartment or right next to him.

“Sam?” he called instead, his fears settling slightly at the newly familiar scratching of claws on wood. Sam pressed his head into Tim’s thigh, rubbing against him to let his owner know he was attentive. Tim smiled, reaching down to pet behind the dog’s ears as he asked, “Find Jay for me?”

If Jason had fallen asleep somewhere or was listening to music like he rarely did then Sam could take Tim over to him. But when Sam didn’t move, only cocked his head beneath Tim’s hand, he frowned.

“Jason, Sammy, c’mon. I know you know who he is, you’ve taken me over to him before.” He said again, kneeling down this time to talk directly to the dog. Sam only whined, however, reaching up to place his paw gently on Tim’s right knee in what had been trained into him to mean ‘no’.

“No?” Tim asked, suddenly slightly breathless, “Jay’s not here? Where is he?” he asked, though he clearly knew he could get no more information from the dog.

Tim stood straight, forcing himself to calm down and think. Jason wasn’t here. The elder had left him alone before to shop and patrol, but he had never left without telling Tim first. And then Tim remembered.

Jason hadn’t gone to bed with him the previous night. He’d come back from patrol complaining about a new gang that were trying to set up shop in the Red Hood’s territory and apparently had more firepower than he’d originally expected. Jason had said he’d wanted to finish off some work for the case and was still wired from patrol anyway, but he’d said he was back now and Tim was obviously tired. Tim had gone to bed first, and with how cold Jason’s side of the bed had been, Tim guessed the elder hadn’t joined him at all.

Jason hadn’t gone to bed and he wasn’t in the apartment anymore. Tim’s breathing caught again, and he could feel his panic rising. What could have happened? They couldn’t have been attacked, because if nothing else Sam was trained to bark at people he didn’t recognise in the apartment. So Jason had left willingly? …why?

Had something urgent come up? Jason would have told him. There was no reason Jason could have to leave without telling Tim first unless-

Unless he hadn’t wanted Tim to know.

Tim could feel Sam on his bare leg, pushing his warm body into him – obviously conscientious of his owner’s distress. Tim was too stuck in his thoughts to reassure the dog.

Had Jason snuck out on him? Tim knew how much he had been bothering the elder since this all began, how much effort Jason put in daily to keep Tim happy and not a day went by that the younger didn’t feel guilty. But Tim had been waiting for the day Jason suggested he move in with Dick, or breach the news to the family and go back to the manor.

He never thought Jason would just up and leave him.

Tim reach out, pressing his hand down onto Sam’s back gently, suddenly mindful of how his hands shook.

“Let’s go to the kitchen, okay, Sammy?” The dog sniffled at him, seeming to recognise the quiver in Tim’s voice just as much as Tim did, and he rubbed his head against his owner’s leg again before leading him into the desired room.

Tim took his time feeling his way around the kitchen, pulling the cupboard door open carefully and feeling everything inside until he found the cool ceramic of the mug Jason kept on the bottom shelf for him to reach. He fumbled with the controls on the coffee maker, using muscle memory over anything else to get it working. Sam stood at his side, alert and reassuring, moving with him as he carried his mug over to the island, hand outstretched until he bumped into the table top, settling his drink down as he sort out a bar stool and tentatively crawled onto it.

Sam sat beside the stool, laying low so Tim’s dangling feet could rest on his warm back. The apartment was silent, then, only the steady ticking of the kitchen clock and the soft hum of the refrigerator filling the empty space. Tim sighed.

He could admit that in the time he’d had once he’d been forced to quit the vigilante lifestyle – however short – he’d grown soft. He relied on Jason too much, needing guidance from the elder for almost everything he did, even with Sam around now. It had barely been more than a week ago that Tim had been so independent, so strong and sure of himself, and now he was useless – bumping into walls and catching himself on table corners and getting scared when he woke up without his- housemate.

Tim sighed again, picking his mug up to take a tentative sip, hands still trembling, when there was a sound from outside the kitchen. The front door opened.

A lot of things happened at once, then. Sam was up in a flash, barking as he ran over to the door, the sudden and harsh movement knocking Tim’s stool to the degree that it tipped up. Tim shouted when the hot coffee spilt over him, burning the bare skin of his legs and he dropped the mug, listening to it smash loudly on the tile floor before he followed it down, being kicked over by the movement of the stool and slipping in the puddle of hot coffee.

Tim bit his lip, trying not to cry out when the shards of ceramic cut into his already burnt knees, but the sound still leaked out. He was scared. Sam was still barking, which meant it could be anyone that just walked in and what could he possibly do to defend himself? He really was useless. There was a brief moment when Tim found himself truly unable to breath, his panic rising once more, before a voice cut through his dog’s sharp barks.

“Sam, calm down, buddy. It’s just me.” God, it was only Jason. Jason had comeback – it hit him then that Tim really hadn’t been expecting him to. “Keep your voice down, yeah? It’s still early – you’ve probably woken Tim up.”

The sound of heavy boots made their way into the main room before rounding the corner and heading into the kitchen. Tim should really get up before Jason found-

“Jesus shit, Timmy. What happened?”

Jason was at his side the next second, warm hands around his waist and hoisting him up before Tim could protest, though he did squeak when he was picked up entirely and placed down to sit on the island of the table.

“I’m sorry.” Tim found himself saying and he felt Jason’s hands on his legs, gentle fingers brushing over his shins to inspect his wounds. “Sam knocked me over when he heard the door go, I wasn’t ready to catch myself and I- I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise, love. Let’s just get these treated, yeah?” Tim nodded silently.

 

Jason had taken Tim into the bathroom to treat his wounds, steadily cleaning his cuts and soothing his burns with ointment before wrapping his legs up in bandages.

“Where did you go?” Tim asked after a few long minutes of silence, his fingers fiddling with the hem of his too-long sleeves.

“Dickie called me out again. That gang I was telling you about started causing trouble.” Jason’s deep voice echoed in the tiled bathroom – Tim could tell from the way it rumbled lower than usual that the elder was tired.

“You didn’t wake me up?” he felt so guilty. Jason shouldn’t have to notify him whenever he left.

“I kind of figured I’d be back before you woke up, really. It’s still so early, you’re not usually up yet.” Was Jason’s reply, mild and unbothered as he worked before pausing.

“You look upset, Timmy. Did I worry you?” It was said as if a joke, but the worry in Jason’s voice was showing through. Tim bit his lip.

“I thought you weren’t coming back.” He admitted, voice so, so quiet.

“What?” Jason was beside him instead of infront of him, then. His hand resting on Tim’s cheek and he turned the other’s face towards him, reading his expression. “Why?”

“Because I- I’m. ‘C- cause you-” Tim would be avoiding Jason’s gaze if he had any need to. He could feel his face heating up. “I’m so much trouble for you.” He rushed out.

“You’re not.” Jason’s reply was instantaneous. Tim blinked,

“But- but you have to do so much for me.” He argued, finding himself feeling a little desperate – for what, however, he didn’t know.

“I enjoy doing so much for you.” Jason told him, his voice soft after finally catching on to how much this had been troubling Tim, “I _like_ being kept busy and it’s _nice_ having someone there to do it all for. Tim, if I didn’t want you here I would have told you, I promise, but having someone to come home to after patrol and cook for and read to and sleep with is something I’ve always wanted. And it couldn’t just be anyone, love, I’m happy it’s you.”

Tim was… speechless. His mind blank as he processed what Jason had said.

Jason finished wrapping up Tim’s legs, the younger staying silent as he was carried back into the main room and settled onto the sofa. Sam jumped up to lay against Tim the second he was comfortable.

Jason left Tim to cuddle with his dog, then – dressing for the day quickly and making short work of the mess of coffee and blood and ceramic shards left on the kitchen floor. When he returned, Tim faced the noise of his footsteps, shifting closer to him when he sat on the sofa.

“Why did he bark at you?” Tim asked after a few moments of quiet, reaching out for Sam and the dog bumped his head against his hand.

“I was in costume – I had my hood on. I guess he just didn’t recognise me.” Jason answered, “You wanna tell me what’s going on in that head of yours? What’s got you all upset and worked up?”

A long paused stretched out as Tim thought, seeming to mull things over in his head before he finally spoke.

“I guess I’m more frustrated than anything.” Tim sighed, “I used to be so independent and now it takes me half an hour to make a cup of coffee. I’m so fucking pathetic.” He brought his hands up to his face, burying into the soft material of the sleeves that covered them and relishing in the way they smelled like Jason.

“Timmy, no love, listen to me, okay? When you first crawled through my kitchen window you wouldn’t even walk around on you own, yeah? Now you’re walking about fine and you have Sam to go outside with. You’ve learnt how to make your way around the kitchen, even if it takes you a while and you’re fine in the bathroom on your own.” Jason pulled Tim closer to him, the younger moving to bury his face in Jason’s shoulder instead of his own hands. Jason smiled.

“Losing your eyesight is something that will take time to get used to. It’ll take time to learn how to do things properly again, love, and you’ve done so well so far. No one’s judging you and no one’s rushing you, yeah? We’ve got all the time we need.” A few moments passed by quietly before Tim spoke up.

“Are you sure you wanna do all this with me?” he asked, voice muffled into Jason’s shirt.

“Positive.” The elder replied, not missing a beat. The room lapsed into silence after that, the two comfortable as they were, snuggled together on the sofa with Sam lay across Tim’s bandaged legs carefully.

“I’m happy it was you, too, you know?” Tim murmured.

“Hmm?”

“You said you were happy it’s me that you do all this for.” Tim didn’t lift his head from Jason’s shoulder as he spoke, “I’m happy it was you that I found that night, too.”

Jason smiled, wrapping his arm around Tim’s waist just a little tighter.

“I’m glad, Timmy. I’m really glad.  
___

“Hello?” 

“Hey, Dick, it’s Tim.” Tim smiled, laying down on the bed he and Jason shared. He could hear Jason moving about in the main room, working on a case he’d picked up the other night.

“Hey, babe! How are you? I didn’t realise it was you ‘cause it wasn’t your number.” Dick sounded happy and possibly a little surprised to hear from his little brother, but Tim had wanted to call him upon hearing from Bruce the other day that he would be moving back up to Gotham for the time being.

“Yeah, Jason helped me get a new phone. We found one online that’s designed for the visually impaired and blind – it reads everything out to you.”

“That’s great, Timmy! Are you managing everything okay? Is Jason being good to you?” Dick asked, the faint sound of traffic on the other side of the line indicating to Tim that he was probably on speaker while Dick was driving.

“You make it sound like we’re dating, Dick.” Tim replied with an eye roll and a smile, rolling onto his side. In truth, it certainly wasn’t an idea he was opposed to, and from how domestic the two of them had begun to act as of late, Tim could admit that they were almost halfway there. It was something he’d have to think about later.

“You know, when you guys were going to tell me about all this I actually thought that was what you were going to say.” Dick chatted, “But seriously, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Dick. Like I said, Jason’s being lovely – he’s taking care of me, I promise. He cooks for me and he’s helping me adjust. I help him work on his cases and he always comes home on time from patrol so I don’t have to wait up too long for him. I’m probably living healthier here than I was on my own.” Tim said truthfully, keeping his voice low so Jason had no chance of hearing. Dick was silent for a moment.

“… You wait for him to come home?” he echoed Tim’s words, “Do you sleep with him?”

“Yes Dick, Jason and I share a bed.” Tim rolled his eyes again, still smiling because he knew that Dick was mostly saying that to tease him, “It’s hard sleeping if I have no way of making sure I’m safe. And if Jason’s with me and comfortable enough to fall asleep then I know I am, too. Sam helps, too now, of course. He’s always near me and he-”

“Sam?” Dick cut him off, the blatant confusion in his voice making Tim pause.

“I didn’t tell you? Jason got me a dog!” he practically cheered.

“You got a dog? Tim, what the hell? That’s not the kind of thing you just forget to tell your family.” Dick huffed, voice raising in pitch in his exasperation.

“We’ve only had him for a few days, now. It was kind of busy going through the adoption process, but at least it wasn’t hard to prove I’m blind.” There was a few moment’s pause on Dick’s end of the line, before the man spoke, sounding a little reluctant.

“You know it’s only a matter of time before Bruce finds out if it’s already in the system, right?” he asked, Tim sighing because, yeah, he knew.

“It was never supposed to be a secret for long anyway, Dick. And getting a dog was necessary.” Dick paused again before seeming to find it appropriate to begin switching the subject a little.

“So, what kind of a dog is he?”

“Jason says he’s a German Sheppard.” Tim answered immediately, perking up, “Apparently he’s got bright blue eyes and a floppy ear – his coat’s super soft and he’s really friendly.”

It was at that moment that the sound of little scratching feet sounded from out in the hallway, Tim paused, sitting up on the bed and listening as the noise got closer.

“Oh, I think he heard us talking about him. Sammy, come here for me!” he called, the smiled on his face so evident in his voice. From in his car, sat in traffic on the highway, Dick smiled at how untaintedly happy his little brother sounded.

Tim squeaked when the bed rocked suddenly as Sam jumped up, the dog padding up to him to rub his head along his arm, letting Tim know he was there. Tim’s smiled widened, scratching behind the dog’s ears.

“Say hi to Dick, Sammy.” He said, then, holding his phone out and feeling as it was snuffled at, Sam yipping quietly at it. Dick’s laugh echoed from the speakers, quiet with the device still on handheld mode.

“Dami’s gonna be so jealous.” Was what the elder was saying when Tim brought the phone back to his ear. He huffed, settling back into the cushions as Sam seated himself beside him on the bed, shuffling to rest his head on Tim’s still bandaged leg.

“Damian already has a dog.” He commented,

“Dami always wants more animals.”

“Well, tough. Sam is ours.” There was a moment’s pause again before Dick spoke.

“You keep saying ours. Isn’t he just yours, really?”

“Well, yeah,” Tim spluttered for a second, trying to think of an excuse for his wording, though he could feel his face heating up. “But Sam lives with both of us, and we both look after him.”

“Aww, Timmy, you’re so cute.” Dick cooed, to which Tim huffed, exasperated.

“Jason bought me a brail wristwatch.” Tim blurted, then – he could admit that his subject change had been far from subtle.

“That’s cool.” Dick replied after a moment, obviously smiling.

“It’s got a bunch of little bumps in it that raise up to make the numbers and it talks.”

“It talks?”

“Yeah, like my phone does. I don’t like using it so much on my watch, but you can press a button on the side and it’ll read the time out to you.”

“Are we going to start to only be able to locate you by the sound of your tech talking?”

“Jason’s already threatened to throw my phone out the window when it told us the weather forecast at five in the morning a few days ago.” Dick laughed, and Tim smiled at the sound as he reached up to start running his hand through Sam’s fur, the dog whining happily and shuffling closer to him. “That was the day I got it, though. I was still working out its settings.”

“I look forward to you slowly pissing everybody off with it.” Dick commented and Tim hummed.

“Are you staying at the manor?” he asked then, thinking about why he’d originally called.

“Uh, yeah, I am. Why? Damian’s been stealing your old chemistry books, by the way, but don’t tell him I told you.” Dick replied and a car horn sounded over his end of the line.

“He can have them, what use do I have for them anymore?” Tim replied, unbothered and cut Dick off when he went to apologise, “Dick, I’m blind – we’re allowed to talk about it. It’s a lot to come to terms with, but if everyone avoided the subject it would be a lot harder. Now, I asked because I want to come out and spend some time with you.”

“Really?” Dick asked then, obviously quickly distracted from their previous conversation subject by the exciting aspect of one of his brothers seeking him out for bonding time.

“Yeah, I do. It’s weird how quickly you can get a perspective for the importance of something like family when you lose something as important as your sight.” Tim admitted with a quiet sigh. There was a lengthy pause on Dick’s end of the line before he finally replied.

“What do you want to do?” he asked, almost sounding chocked up.

“If you start crying I’m hanging up.” Tim stated, trying to sound serious but failing miserably.

“I’m not crying.” Dick said, clearly putting on an over-emotional voice. Tim laughed,

“I want you to decide.” Tim answered, “The only rule is if it’s too public of a place Jason’s coming too, otherwise it’s only us and Sam.”

“And have you consulted Jason about this?” Dick asked, only partially teasing.

“He’s already said yes.” Tim huffed.

“Really? Alright, then, I’ll ring later to set a date.”  
___

Jason was out on patrol and the apartment was dark. Tim often kept the lights off whenever he was alone, feeling safer when there was no indication to others that anyone was home, since neither he nor Sam had any need for them.

The television was on, quietly playing an audio book on a channel Jason had found for him, and Sam was laid happily on the sofa beside him. There was a small plate of sandwiches somewhere on the coffee table that Jason had made earlier for him, though Tim had yet to bother leaning forward to feel about the wooden surface to find them, comfortable as he was.

The book was just beginning to reach a point that seemed to actually hold some plot when Sam perked up from beside Tim, turning his head against Tim’s leg to face the general direction on the window.

“What’s caught your eye, Sammy?” Tim asked, keeping his tone hushed just in case there was someone he should pretend not to have noticed. Sam huffed out a breath, keeping his head up for another moment or two before laying down again. Nothing important, then, maybe just a bird.

Tim jumped but managed keep from making a sound when there was a soft tapping on the window glass, too dull to be a finger, not obvious enough to be someone trying to get his attention. Tim focused his hearing on the noise until it was joined by a soft ‘mrow’.

“Meow?” Tim repeated, immediately feeling stupid for asking after a cat’s noise. The soft tapping sounded again and this time Sam got up, seeming to have realised he wasn’t the only one attentive to the new presence. Tim followed his dog over to the window, being meowed at again and again now that the cat apparently at their window new he had noticed them.

Tim lifted his hand up to the glass and could immediately hear the loud purring in reaction to the gesture through the glass. Was it safe to open the window? It was hardly as if there was going to be some kind of bad guy lurking outside every time Jason left the building, and Tim was almost certain the elder had this place wired to the teeth, either way.

He reached up, feeling along the pane until his fingers skirted along the handle lock, pressing down on the key slot before twisting the handle and tugging the window open. He was immediately greeted by a loud meow.

“Hello to you, too.” Tim smiled, keeping his eyes closed as he reached out tentatively to offer his hand to the cat. He’d barely reached passed the window pane before a soft little face was pushing against the back of his hand and rubbing over his fingers. Tim’s smile softened and he crooked his fingers up, offering the cat a good scratch beneath the chin and receiving loud, rumbling purrs in return.

Sam yipped from somewhere a little behind Tim.

“It’s okay, Sammy, it’s only a friendly cat. You’re a softy, aren’t you? Where’d you come from, hmm? Are you a neighbour’s cat?” The cat meowed again, pushing against Tim’s hand more, as if trying to get passed him now. “I don’t have any food for you, if that’s what you’re here for. I don’t know how you got up here since we’re on the seventh floor, but you should probably go back. I’m not sure how Jay would react if I adopted a cat as well as a dog. I’m not Damian.”

Tim must be lonely, if he really was having a full conversation with a cat that appeared at his window. The cat meowed again, as if trying to argue.

“I said you can’t- oof!” Tim was cut off when the cat jumped in anyway, the mass that barrelled into him so much more than Tim was expecting as it knocked him to the ground completely.

“Holy shit.” Tim cursed, sitting up. He could still feel the cat sat on him and it really felt like his legs were being crushed – it was so much worse than when Sam sat on him. “You’re huge!”

The cat meowed again, louder this time, though it didn’t particularly sound offended. Tim could hear Sam moving about behind him nervously, so he reached out for the dog, reassuring him that he was fine.

“I guess you really wanted to come in, huh?” he asked the cat, then, sucking in a deep breath of relief when the ball finally got off of him, “If you end up staying, you can be the one to explain this to Jay.”

 

“Uh, Babybird?” Tim heard the tentative call of Jason from where he was in the kitchen with Sam, having just fed the dog.

“Yeah?” he called back, slowly working his way through putting everything he’d used away.

“Why is there a giant marshmallow on our sofa?”

“He just barged in, Jay.” Tim excused himself, “I couldn’t stop him.”

“I can imagine.” Was Jason’s reply, the huff in his voice sounding exasperated, “He looks like he’s as heavy as you are.”

“He was at the window, I’ve no idea how he got there. I was just greeting him when he jumped in and landed on me.” Tim explained, making his way out of the kitchen. The cat meowed at him when he came into the main room.

“Are you okay?” Jason asked, sounding legitimately worried. Tim giggled.

“He’s not _that_ fat.”

“Timmy, love, you can’t see him. He’s literally taking up an entire sofa cushion- and glaring at me, what’re you looking at?” Jason said, cutting off his own sentence to address the cat and apparently size him up.

“Don’t- don’t _threaten_ him, Jay.” Tim was still laughing, “What does he look like?”

“Uh, he’s super fluffy, white and patched with ginger – got big green eyes, too. He’s pretty cute when he’s _not staring the fuck at me, piss off_.”

“Stop getting into fights with the cat,” Tim huffed with a smile, only stumbling a little when he made his way over to the sofa, reaching his hand down to feel for the cat, who began purring loudly as soon as Tim started to pet him.

“ _Oh_ , he loooves you.” Jason stated, only sounding a little upset.

“Does he belong to anyone?” Tim asked, smiling at the soft fur moving beneath his fingertips.

“I don’t think so. I’ve seen him about the neighbourhood before and he’s never been anywhere he seemed he belonged, you know?”

Tim could hear Jason moving about the room, probably settling in after patrol. He perked up when he felt the heat of Jason at his side, turning to the elder man excitedly.

“Jay, can we keep him?”

Jason could only sigh, because somehow he knew that even if he said no, the ball of fluff still sat on their sofa and pawing at Tim’s hand would work its way into their little world, anyway.

“He doesn’t even have a name.” he argued instead.

“We can give him one!” And Jason was a little baffled, because this was the most excited he thought he’d ever seen Tim. “Something fat.” He pondered. Jason laughed.

“Something fat?” he repeated, an eyebrow raised at the younger. Tim frowned, swatting at him.

“You know what I mean – something fat sounding, like Dumpling or Marshmallow. It’s cute.”

“Mocchi?” Jason supplied, only a little taken aback as he found himself wondering how his life had gotten to this point.

“Mocchi!” Tim almost squealed, “Do you like that?”

The cat – Mocchi, now, apparently – meowed up at him in response. Jason could only, sigh, grabbing at Tim’s hand to tug it away from the cat and begin to gently pull him off in the direction of their bedroom.

“Congratulations, Timmy, now we’ve got a cat, too. Now, c’mon, I’m tired and it’s bedtime.” Tim only grinned in response.  
___

Tim paused in his fiddling with his phone at an unfamiliar sound, like Sam walking over the hardwood floor but less scratchy more… heavy. Jason was sat at the opposite end on the sofa to Tim, the younger’s feet in his lap and what was probably a book in his hand. And then a small string of high pitched little meows were let out from somewhere near where the noise was coming from and it clicked.

“Is that Mocchi?” Tim asked him, settling his phone down in his lap.

“Yeah.” Jason replied, he sounded distracted, but not like he was lost in a book, more like he was watching something he couldn’t drag his eyes away from.

“What’s he doing?” Tim asked then, because it sounded like Mocchi, yes. But Mocchi had never been that… fast?

“Running.” That made Tim pause.

“Mocchi can run?”

“Well, he’s trying to.” Jason replied, and Tim felt laughter bubble up from him. The sound of thumping little feet got momentarily louder followed by a short little ‘mrow’ before Mocchi apparently turned and ran off again.

“Seriously, what’s he doing?” he asked again, allowing his phone to drop onto the sofa cushion beneath him and he crawled over to Jason to settle into the elder’s lap, as if he could get a better idea of what their cat was up to if he were sat closer.

“He’s literally just running back and forth, his tail straight up. Sam’s over in the kitchen door watching him go back and forth like a tennis match.” Tim was giggling again, raising a hand to his mouth to muffle the sound before Jason tugged it away gently.

“You’ve got a cute little giggle,” he told the younger, Tim’s cheeks heating at the sudden compliment immediately, “don’t cover it up.” Tim pushed forward until his forehead bumped against Jason’s softly, ducking his head so he could bury his face in the elder’s neck for a moment to hide his blush.

“Sam’s always been weirdly fascinated by Mocchi, hasn’t he?” he asked then, Jason nodding.

“Like he’s some weird, unexplainable creature he doesn’t know what to do with.” He confirmed. Mocchi ran passed again and Tim felt Jason move his legs out of the way beneath him as the cat circled the coffee table and let out a little shout as he did. There was a few more moments of little thumping feet before a loud thud sounded and Sam yipped.

“Oh.” Jason said simply, sounding surprised and mildly amused.

“What?” Tim asked, straightening a little from where he’d been leant against Jason.

“He hit a wall.” Tim couldn’t help the sudden laughter that bubbled out of him at the idea and monotone way Jason had stated it.

“Is he okay?” he asked between giggles. He could hear the smile in Jason’s voice when he replied,

“He’s fine, but I think he’s had enough.” He sighed, “I don’t like it when he runs, it’s not a good look on him.”

“What do you mean?” Tim’s cheeks ached a little from laughing.

“He’s all… jiggly.” And suddenly Tim’s stomach hurt and he tried to breathe and keep from chocking on the sudden eruption of laughter that hit him, his cheeks pink and eyes teary. Jason watched the younger struggle between trying to calm down and finding it too funny to do so as he took in huge, full breaths. Sam padded over to them to check his owner was alright.

Tim could only pat the dog on the head, too out of breath to speak. Jason was grinning.  
___

Tim had been settled into the sofa when Jason had returned from a quick grocery shopping trip, Sam asleep at his feet and Mocchi lying flat on his lap, probably crushing his thighs. Jason smiled, wondering how he’d gotten so lucky to jump so quickly from a life of chaos to one of such sweet domesticity and peace.

“Jay?” Tim asked, checking who had walked in the same as he did every time Jason had to leave him alone.

“Yeah, love. Gimme a second to put all this away and we can go back to _Wuthering Heights_ , okay?” He replied, referring to the shopping bags in his hands. Tim smiled, nodding once before turning his attention back to petting Mocchi languidly.

Jason turned into the kitchen, making quick work of their groceries and humming as he did so. The two of them had taken up trawling their way through Jason’s surprisingly vast book collection – spending long afternoons curled together as Jason read to Tim until he had to leave for patrol.

Mocchi got up when Jason seated himself on the sofa beside Tim, meowing noisily and jumping off the younger to land loudly on the hardwood floor with a ‘thump’. The cat was probably still pissed at him for the last fat joke he’d made yesterday. Jason sighed.

“Oh, hey, I can feel my legs again.” Tim commented idly, tugging the material of his shorts back down from where Mocchi had pushed them up and running his dainty little hands over the bright red pressure marks of cat’s feet on his bare thighs.

Jason laughed, tugging Tim over to settle into his side as he usually did when they sat together – Tim surprising him by moving further over to sit in his lap instead. Jason rested his hand on Tim’s hip to keep him in place and brushed a lock of his hair back when it fell over the younger’s closed eyes, smiling.

“Dick asked if he could come over tomorrow.” Tim spoke, voice quiet as it often was when he was comfortable.

“First time for everything, I guess.” Was Jason’s reply, Tim opening his eyes to glance over at him in confusion. “He’s never asked before.” He clarified.

“I suppose it was less asking for permission and more checking we’d both be in.”

“Of course we’ll be in. We’re always in.” Jason huffed, Tim smiled, reaching up to run his hand over Jason’s shoulder – feeling the material of his t-shirt beneath his fingers.

“That’s what I said.”

“He’d just sit and wait for us to get back if we were out, anyway. You can’t get rid of the idiot once he decided he wants to see you – you can’t escape him.” Tim giggled.

“Once, when I was still with the Titans and hadn’t seen him in a few months Gar wouldn’t let him in for a visit as a joke and so he scaled the outside of the building to get to me.”

“See?” Jason huffed a laugh, shifting to sit up straighter – Tim turning to face him more with the movement, his eyes still closed. “He’s impossible to escape.”

“We could sit Mocchi on him and leave, he wouldn’t be able to follow us. Not even you can move that cat.”

A few seconds of silence passed, then, as if the two were actually considering the option of sticking their cat on their brother just to escape his smothering and loving before they were both laughing.

Jason took a moment to pause, once the moment had passed – taking in the way the warm sun light cast a glow over Tim’s silky hair and his soft cheeks had pinked from laughing and his plump lips had reddened from being chewed. Tim really was gorgeous – and in that moment Jason was hit by the sudden urge to tell him just that.

“God, you really are beautiful.” He murmured, the words coming out quiet, though he didn’t doubt whether Tim had heard him. The younger opened his eyes then, still just a natural action whenever he was directly reacting to something and Jason held back a sigh when those pretty, milky blue eyes gazed back at him.

“Really?” Tim asked, then, sound disbelieving but still oddly hopeful in a way that both broke and melted Jason’s heart. He reached up to cradle Tim’s cheek, running his thumb over the smooth expanse of pale skin, feeling brave in this moment of intimacy.

“Yeah, really.” He stated, leaning forward a little and taking in the way Tim’s eyes fluttered, sensing the movement. The younger bit his lip, cheeks flushing for a reason far different from laughter. “Timmy,” Jason spoked, because he was sure he wasn’t reading these signals wrong, he couldn’t be. “I really wanna kiss you right now, love… can I?”

The briefest few seconds passed silently, and Jason thought what he’d do if Tim said no. God, he hadn’t thought this through – pushed too far in a spur of the moment. He’d ruined this, ruined everything they had. They’d be awkward now and Tim would want to move out soon and-

Tim gave a small nod, noticed by Jason mostly by the movement in the palm of his hand, followed by the tiniest of ‘yeah’s ever.

So Jason kissed him, because clearly second guessing himself led nowhere.

**Author's Note:**

> I left Mocchi out of the tags because I figured he'd be a nice surprise to my cat-loving readers. Once again, if you have any prompts or little ideas for me please do not hesitate to contact me.
> 
> Visit my Tumblr as the-sky-is-a-lie


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